Liaquat Ali Khan, the independent candidate that MML has nominated in Peshawar, says he is patriot with a strong belief in the ideology of Pakistan.
The Milli Muslim League (MML) is still an unregistered political party, but it is taking part in its second electoral contest for a National Assembly seat.
The by-election for NA-4 Peshawar on October 26 is keenly awaited even though the winner will get to sit in the National Assembly for not more than six months when fresh polls will be organized. The outcome will provide an indicator to the political trends prior to the general election next year because all the major parties have fielded candidates.
Besides the MML, another newly formed Islamic party, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan set up in memory of Mumtaz Qadri who shot dead Punjab Governor Salman Taseer for allegedly committing blasphemy, is also contesting. Both fought the by-election for NA-120 Lahore, which was won by deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, and performed surprisingly better than the mainstream Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI).
The rejection of its application for registration by the Election Commission of Pakistan may have dampened MML’s spirits, but this hasn’t stopped it from entering the electoral contest in the rural Peshawar constituency and backing an independent candidate, Liaquat Ali Khan.
But Khan is independent only in name as the MML cannot own him as its candidate until the party is registered and awarded an election symbol. Khan was an office-bearer of the outlawed Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), having headed its Mardan region chapter. He is also vice-president for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of the Milli Yakjehti Council, an alliance of religio-political groups representing various Muslim sects.
The JuD, and by extension the MML, traditionally enjoys some backing in Punjab, the province to which its leaders Hafiz Saeed and Saifullah Khalid belong. But its support base in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is narrow.
Though it stands no chance of victory, the party cadres are running a spirited election campaign in parts of the provincial capital, Peshawar, and scores of villages falling in NA-4. The male and female party workers go door-to-door to seek votes. Contacts have been established with leading religious scholars to seek their endorsement for the MML candidate.
The MML President Saifullah Khalid and other leaders have visited Peshawar to organize the election campaign. The JuD founder Hafiz Saeed has not visited to campaign because the government placed him under house arrest in early 2017.
In the NA-120 by-election in Lahore, the MML was able to display banners and signboards with Hafiz Saeed’s pictures. The situation is different this time as the MML has been barred from displaying the name of any outlawed organization or its leaders. The Election Commission has been particularly tough in implementing the code of conduct for candidates and parties. The MML had displayed big banners and signboards on the main roads in the constituency in violation of the size allowed by the Election Commission and these had to be removed.
On the Ring Road in Peshawar and further on the Kohat Road, rows and rows of banners and billboards of MML candidate hanging from electricity poles are unmissable. Bearded and wearing a white cap, the candidate’s pictures dominate the billboards. “Our politics – service and humanity” is inscribed on the banners and billboards. His election symbol is a “thermos” and his full name Alhaj Liaquat Ali Khan means he has performed Hajj in Saudi Arabia more than once.
But the 40-year old Khan has a Master’s degree in Islamiyat from University of Peshawar, and has released a progressive manifesto to appeal to all kinds of voters. He promises that he will promote girls’ education and provide healthcare facilities to women. His campaign team is organizing free medical camps to treat patients in every union council. Claiming that elected lawmakers did nothing for the electorate in the past, he is focusing on attracting voters dissatisfied with other parties. Khan has ambitious plans to persuade female voters to cast their vote and ensure a higher turnout in the by-election.
Maintaining that his party’s politics is different than other parties, Khan argues that they are not indulging in any blame-game and are patriots with a strong belief in the ideology of Pakistan.
It is obvious the MML like the traditional parties is using every trick of the trade to seek votes. However, there is no way it can cause an upset and win the by-election.